A broken and contrite heart as gift to Jesus for Christmas: Dr Mar Yulios

‘Let us make ourselves worthy to be the spotless gift to baby Jesus’
‘Remain holy, sinless and give ourselves to the Lord’
Celebrate feast of Martyrdom of St Thomas with Holy Qurbana on Dec 21

AHMEDABAD : Pulikkottil Dr Geevarghese Yulios, Metropolitan, Ahmedabad Diocese, has urged the faithful to observe three days fast from December 18-21, with special devotion and prayers to remember St Thomas, great founder Father of Christianity in India.

In a Bull No 89, dated December 7, 2011, issued from Ahmedabad, Dr Mar Yulios has called to celebrate the feast of the martyrdom of St Thomas with a Holy Qurbana on December 21 after 3 days of fasting.

On Christmas and birth of Jesus, His Grace notes that the birth of a child is always an occasion of happiness. “We have always overwhelming joy to watch a newborn. It is the innocence and sinless nature of a newborn that makes us joyous. Christmas recalls the occasion of the birth of our Lord, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who became a child!”

This God-child is fully identical with any other human child (Hebrews 4:15), but remained holy and knew no sin (II Cor 5:21). St Peter describes this child as ‘a lamb without blemish or defect’ (I Pet 1:19).

And the same child would exhort us to remain sinless throughout our lives. This is from where Christmas draws its depth and profundity. Nativity of our Lord is the season that calls us to remain holy and sinless. And the reward of being sinless is the Kingdom of Heaven, the eternal happiness with the angels, saints and all glorified departed.

The Metropolitan notes that we all are inherently happy to give gifts and presents to newborn children. The Holy Bible proclaims Magi from the far-east undertook an adventurous travel to present precious gifts to the new born baby Jesus. What will be the gifts that we would give to baby Jesus this year? Let us give ourselves to the Lord as gifts by being sinless during this Christmas and thereafter.

Just as Psalmist says, ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise’ (Psalm 51:17). Let us give to the baby Jesus a broken and contrite heart that hastens towards holiness as our sincere gift during this Christmas season.

St Paul portrays the Church as without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:27) and let us make ourselves worthy to be the spotless gift to the baby Jesus!

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